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CLARENCE E. CHOI
Ph.D MHKIE(G)
Clarence is Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). He is a geotechnical engineer with research interests on landslide and geoenvironmental hazards.
He was awarded the Hutchinson Lecture (to be delivered in Oslo, Norway, 2023) by the Federation of International Geo-Engineering Societies (FedIGS), the Oldrich Hungr Award and Lecture in 2022 (to be delivered in Florence, Italy, 2023) by the International Consortium of Landslides ICL (UNESCO), Young Engineer of the Year Award in 2023 by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE), the Geotechnical Paper Award by the Geotechnical Division Committee (GDC) of HKIE in 2022, Bright Spark Award by the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) in 2021, Best Paper Award in Landslides in 2019 by the ICL (UNESCO), Telford Premium Prize by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), U.K., in 2017, R.M. Quigley Award by the Canadian Geotechnical Society in 2017, Fugro Prize in 2015 by HKIE, and a Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study Junior Fellowship from 2015 to 2019.
He serves as the founding and current Chair of the Debris Flow and Steep Creek Hazards Mitigation Committee of the Association of Geohazard Professionals (AGHP), Chair of the Geotechnical Pioneers Committee of GDC of HKIE, Chair-nominated member of TC208 (Slope Stability) of the ISSMGE, One of 26 international core members of the Joint Technical Committee on Natural Slopes and Landslides, Core member of the Hong Kong Geotechnical Society, Board Member of the International Consortium of Landslides of UNESCO, and Editor and Editorial Board members for Landslide and Engineering Geology.
Prior to joining HKU, he was Research Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He obtained his PhD from HKUST and his BSc (with distinction) from the University of Calgary.
MOHAMMAD NIKOOEI
Postdoctoral Fellow (2021 - present)
Dr Nikooei obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. His research is on developing computational risk assessment tools for granular geophysical flows.
CHENYANG ZHANG
Postdoctoral Fellow (2023 - present)
Chenyang Zhang obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD in Geological Engineering from China University of Geosciences, and participated in a joint PhD program funded by CSC at the University of Bologna, Italy. His research is mainly on the mechanisms and stabilization of large-scale landslides. He was awarded the China National Scholarship from the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2018 and was selected for the Outstanding Doctoral Student Program of the China University of Geosciences in 2021.
JIAQI ZHANG
Postdoctoral Fellow (2020 - present)
Dr Zhang obtained his PhD from Shandong University. His research is on understanding the effects of microplastics on the geoenvironment.
JENNY FEIHONG GAO
PhD (2021 - present)
Feihong Gao graduated from Central South University with first class academic standing. Her research is on the mechanisms of post fire landslides.
KENNETH TAIKUN HAN
PhD (2022 - present)
Taikun obtained his Masters in Civil Engineering at the University of Glasgow.
WEI JI
PhD (2021 - present)
Wei obtained his BSc and his MSc degrees in Hydraulic Engineering from Hohai University with first class academic standing.
CHLOE RUOYING LI
PhD (2021 - present)
Chloe obtained her Bachelor's degree from HKU with first-class honors in civil engineering. She is supported by the prestigious HKU Presidential PhD Scholarship (HKU-PS). She was the awardee of the Dean's List, C.V. Starr Scholarship, and Hui Yin Hing Scholarship. Awarded the HKU Worldwide Undergraduate Student Exchange Scholarship, she went for exchange study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In her final year of undergraduate study, she participated in an Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. Chloe's research is on developing engineered countermeasures against debris flow hazards.
ZHENGYU LIANG
PhD (2020 - present)
Zhengyu obtained his Bachelor and Masters degrees from Central South University. His research is on revealing the effects of forests on debris flow mobility.
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MEICHEN LIU
PhD (2023 - present)
Meichen obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from University of Science and Technology Beijing (joint undergraduate-postgraduate), with first class standing and majoring in Mining Engineering. Her research focus is on the transport mechanisms of granular material.
NING MA
PhD (2022 - present)
Ning obtained his MSc in Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology from the University of New South Wales. His research is on decarbonisation in land reclamation using deep mixing.
MOHAMMAD SADEGHI
MPhil (2023 - present)
Mohammad obtained his MSc from Sharif University of Technology in geo-environmental engineering. He research is on the development of computational methods to simulate debris flows.
PENGJIA SONG
PhD (2019 - present)
Pengjia graduated from Sichuan University for his undergraduate studies with first class academic standing. His research is on the entrainment dynamics of debris flows.
WILSON LAP YIN WAN
PhD (2022 - present)
Wilson is currently a final year undergraduate student at HKU majoring civil engineering. He was awarded the prestigious HKU Presidential PhD Scholarship (HKU-PS) and the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scholarship, the the Dean’s Honours List, the HKU Engineering Alumni Association Scholarship, the Western Harbour Tunnel Scholarship and the Wong Shek-Yung Enrichment Award. He completed the HKU Summer Research Program 2021 as a research assistant at Dr Choi's lab with outstanding performance. His research is on revealing the dynamics of submarine debris flows.
MINGHE WANG
PhD (2023 - present)
Minghe obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Tianjin University. He got the first place in the post-graduate entrance exam. His research focus is on AI and Machine Learning for debris flow hazard mitigation.
YIHAN WANG
PhD (2022 - present)
Yihan obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Wuhan University, with first class standing and majoring in Hydraulic Structure Engineering. Her research focus is in the areas of rock mechanics and granular materials. She was awarded a National Scholarship, the Wuhan University Scholarship on three occasions, and numerous other awards and honors. Yihan spent time on exchange in Canada at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Civil Engineering (Geotechnical).
JIANTAO YU
PhD (2019 - present)
Mr. Yu obtained his Masters from the University of Sydney. His research is on submarine debris flows.
SIJUN ZENG
PhD (2023 - present)
Sijun obtained his Masters from Delft University of Technology majoring in Geo-engineering. He obtained his BEng in Civil Engineering from University of Science and Technology Beijing. His research interest is on probabilistic analysis of geostructures.
KACHINA CHIU YUE KOON
Research Assistant (2022 - present)
Kachina is currently a final year undergraduate student at HKU majoring in civil engineering. She won championships in the ICE Communication Competition and HK Electric's Green Energy Dreams Come True Competition.
ISSAC DZI HEI WON
Research Assistant (2022 - present)
Isaac is currently a final year undergraduate student at HKU majoring in civil engineering. He won championships in the ICE Communication Competition and HK Electric's Green Energy Dreams Come True Competition.
ALUMNI
JIANTING DU (2020 - 2023)
Former Post-Doctoral Fellow (now Research Assistant Professor at the University of Macau, China)
AMOS YUPENG JIANG (2022 - 2023)
Former Post-Doctoral Fellow (now Junior Professor at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany)
JIANTAO YU (2019 - 2023)
Former PhD student
TIM DAKE XIONG (2021 - 2022)
Former MPhil student (now PhD student at University of Texas)
SAOIRSE ROBIN GOODWIN (2016 - 2021)
Former PhD student and Postdoctoral Fellow (now Senior Scientist of the Department of Civil Engineering, Geo and Environmental Sciences at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany)
EDRIC JULIAN (SUMMER 2021)
Former Research Assistant (now Graduate Engineer at Arcadis)
WILL KI CHUN CHAN (SUMMER 2021)
Former Research Assistant (now Graduate Engineer of the Civil Engineering and Development Department of the HKSAR Government)
FANYU XIA (SUMMER 2022)
Former Research Assistant (now Undergraduate at Tongji University)